MARGAO
All eyes are focused on the Guirdolim Zilla Panchayat constituency as the Congress and the BJP appeared locked in a keen tussle to establish its stranglehold over the seat.
Comprising of the villages of Chandor, Guirdolim, Paroda, Ambaulim and some wards of Balli village panchayat, the Congress and the father-son duo of Joaquim and Yuri Alemao had gone all out to ensure that the Congress flag flies atop the seat.
Take note, the Congress went about the job as per the plan, but not before the Congress-turned-BJP duo of Deputy Chief Chandrakant Kavlekar and MLA Clafacio Dias unveiled their plan of action in support of the party candidate.
The Deputy CM, in particular, concentrated in the wards of Balli village panchayat, which are part of the Quepem constituency, to keep the BJP in good stead in the final analysis.
In fact, the 3,400-plus vote polled in the Balli area of the Guirdolim constituency seemed to have become a talking point in political circles. The BJP has exuded confidence of polling at least 2,900 out of the 3,400-plus votes polled in the Balli area, with Deputy CM Kavlekar going a step ahead and saying that the Congress candidate will not poll more than 600 votes in the Balli area.
Against this backdrop, the BJP camp appeared upbeat, with party leaders saying that Balli area will keep the party candidate in good stead. “I can say with confidence that of the 3,400-plus votes polled in Balli, the BJP will poll as high as 2,900 votes. This will ensure the victory of the BJP in Guirdolim,” Deputy CM Kavlekar told The Goan on Sunday.
Kavlekar’s optimism seemed to have raised hopes in the BJP camp of winning the Guirdolim seat, leaving the Congress in a calculation mode.
Former Cuncolim MLA Joaquim Alemao, who joined the Congress only last month, said the BJP will poll majority votes in Balli, but hastened to add that the Congress would poll around 1,000-odd votes in the panchayat area. “I agree that the BJP will poll majority votes in the Balli area. But, I do not agree with Deputy CM Kavlekar that the Congress would poll only 600 votes in Balli,” Joaquim said, adding that the Congress should win the Guirdolim seat by a margin of 500-plus votes.
